This month, we explore some of the products that meet the communication needs of today’s businesses. This was originally part of an interview that our own Simon LeDuc did with Commercial Integrator and has been repurposed to share with you in this month’s blog.

How are products like the C002E-RF and the C009E-RF omni directional microphones helping modern office spaces meet their communication needs?

The C002E-RF and C009E-RF are great solutions for the huddle rooms and small meeting tables, especially when used in combination with a third-party phantom powered XLR to USB preamp adaptor to connect to a soft codec. Because it’s an omni-directional microphone, when you use it in a small huddle room or collaborative room, it is more than enough to cover a 4 feet wide table. It’s a simple tabletop solution that can be easily installed without leaving a mark on the table. These are two solutions out of many that Clockaudio offers for today and tomorrow’s conference room, whether big or small.

Are there ways to explain to customers the value of a quality collaboration system without getting too technical? How can you get people to start thinking about collaboration systems as a good idea, and not only just to save money over traveling from office to office?

Sure, you can ask questions such as:
Have you noticed how much longer you can focus on a meeting when it’s quiet around you?

Can you recall a conference call, where you had a hard time understanding the person on the other end of the line?

After the call, did you realize that most of your brainpower during the call was used trying to understand the person’s message because the sound quality was not good?

Like an audio engineer doing forensic work on a Police TV show, your brain needs to filter out the noise and reconstruct the conversation using pattern recognition, all while maintaining a constructive dialog with the participants in the meeting you are in.

A noisy line, noisy HVAC, reverberant room or bad microphone can interfere with a person’s message. This is called hearing fatigue, and this is where intelligibility (or lack thereof) can play an important role between having a successful meeting and having a frustrating one.

Now by changing the HVAC to a more silent unit, by tweaking the acoustics of the room, by changing to a better conference system or by upgrading to a better microphone you can greatly improve the sound quality in your room and provide better intelligibility for participants. This is where a good conferencing setup can make all the difference in the world, and this all starts with choosing the right microphone for the job.

Are there certain rules of thumb that integrators can follow when choosing boundary microphones, suspended microphones and tabletop microphones to best meet the communication needs of businesses?

First: There are no “bad types” of microphones; every microphone has a specialty it is good at.

Note: If you go with 3 or more people per cardioid capsule, the person in front of the microphone will be much louder than everybody else, creating issues with your gain structure.

For Omni directional boundary microphones = Put on a table not larger than 4 feet (depending on the acoustics of the room).

You can cover 3 participants per side of a table (not larger than 4 feet) per microphone.

Never mix cardioid and omni microphones as their differences in polar pattern will create audio issues when mixed together.

Remember, omni microphones will capture more room noise than cardioid so keep your microphones close to your participants.

For our triple element suspended C303-RF & C303D-P microphones

-at 7.5ft from the ground, you can cover a 15ft circle or 10ft square (I find it easier to look at it as a 10ft square when overlapping many C303 in a room).

Are digital technologies, including formats like Dante making the specification and installation of collaboration systems easier?

Of course! It helps cut down on installation and project costs. We calculate a savings of around 35% by leveraging Dante in your video conferencing project.

It also makes it much easier to transport audio and logic over long distances using our CDT100 Dante transporter box.

Our CDT100 Dante Transporter can even let you customize the RGB LED of your Clockaudio touch buttons with up to 16 million color combinations. Even if the norm is red and green for mute & unmuted, using red and blue instead would make your installation ‘’ADA accessible’’ for people with color blindness. The LEDs, buttons and motorized control can all travel through network with the Dante audio using a single Cat5 cable! This is how easy it has become.

How does Clock Audio foresee the collaboration market evolving over the next few years?

I think we’ll continue to see a big rise of the soft codecs (Zoom, Skype for business).
Conference rooms and huddle rooms will be more and more BYOD (bring your own devices) spaces with Dante and USB.

Related Posts

Today companies are fully embracing collaborative environments and the products and technologies that we provide to them must meet the ever-changing needs of these spaces. Sure, having a quality microphone, great sound quality and the proper placement of those mics is critical to ensuring that the message you are sharing in any collaborative space is crystal clear. Particularly in video-conference applications, making sure you pay attention to how sound is captured and heard is paramount to enabling participants to “get the job done.”

This month we turn the tables and instead of talking about the products that help you collaborate, we’ll share some tips on how to build a collaborative environment when it comes to the PEOPLE in your company.

When you bring people together to collaborate, you expect them to produce results. But what if their performance is hindered by the lack of or use of sub-par technology.

For a collaborative team environment to truly work, you need products and equipment that can stand up to the test of multiple users in a non-traditional set up.

Proper microphone design and sound quality are two components that go a long way to ensure the success of any collaborative space such as a huddle or conference room. Here are some other tips for ensuring the success of your next collaborative meeting:

- Have a Common Purpose and Goal -
Without a goal, there is no team, so make sure everyone on the team knows what the “mission” is, and why the team is necessary to exist. Make sure that each member of the team has voiced their commitment to the group and make sure to keep your sights set on your common purpose when prioritizing the tasks and objectives for the group.

- Trust Each Other -
If you don’t have trust, the chances for great collaboration are sketchy at best. To build trust, make sure that you are honest with each other, that you address conflict in a positive and swift way, that you have a zero-tolerance for gossip and back stabbing, and set an example by showing that YOU trust the team members.

- Know Your Role -
Be crystal clear when you identify the expectations for each person in the group, make sure everyone knows what their unique and shared responsibilities are, understand what each team member is contributing and revisit the roles within the group often in case anything needs adjusting.

- Crystal Clear Communication -
Keep the flow of information consistent and be specific. Most problems arise from misunderstandings and miscommunications which can breakdown your collaborative unit. Over communicate if you need to without being condescending and practice empathy to make sure you understand the position of others in the group. If you have a misunderstanding, work quickly to resolve it and make sure to celebrate your victories and acknowledge your fellow team members.

- Differences are a Good Thing -
When working in a team you want to have members that have a difference of opinion and that represents all different perspectives. Try to learn as much as you can from another member and consider any ideas based on its merits not on how similar it is to what you were thinking.

- Remember What Brought You to the “Dance” -
Groups can sometimes take on a life of their own, so remember what brought you to the dance. To stay on track, make sure you filter all that you are doing by comparing it to what your original objectives and goals were. You will want to evaluate the effectiveness of how you are conducting the meetings and adjust it when it needs to be. Put someone in charge of the “health” of the group’s dynamic while you all strive to meet your collaborative goals.

These tips will help you build a strong, collaborative team that will help you conquer any business goal you set.

Installing a conferencing microphone system isn’t what it used to be because offices have changed. Learn what millennials expect from a conferencing mic.

Cubicles are coming down, working lunches over laptops are the norm, and jeans are acceptable Monday through Friday – and that’s when we even bother putting on pants and coming in to the office at all.

It’s not your father’s office anymore.

Even offices that don’t have cubicle-free open floor plans are shifting their cultures to be more collaborative, and a new generation of specifiers are designing spaces and meeting rooms with moveable furniture and integrated AV equipment for maximum configurability.

However, many times this focus on collaboration is coming at the expense of quality audio and negatively impacting the ability to record and distribute high-end audio.

Losing touch of what makes a quality conferencing microphone system

“Everybody wants their space to look like Google, [and that means] that they’re losing touch with the requirements for a quality conferencing mic in the workplace,” says Christopher Maione, principal of Northport, New York-based Christopher Maione Associates.

“Whether it be an open conference room or an enclosed conference room, the next generation of AV and IT decision makers are not seeing the need or the importance of what I would call a real conferencing microphone system versus a junk mic they can get on Amazon.”

Maione suggests that this could be a contributing factor to part of a seemingly larger devaluation of quality audio technology among younger IT professionals in the AV industry.

“The basic goal of any conference or meeting is to collaborate, and share, and discuss information,” says Mike Solomon, co-founder of Cardone, Solomon & Associates, Inc.

“It’s really important that people are heard and clearly understood, whether they’re sitting in a room
together, or whether people are, for example, in multiple locations, New York, Chicago, London,
Zurich, San Francisco, and another room in Tokyo, in a multi-time zone, global, collaborative video
conference.”

The future of conferencing mics is tied to AV furniture

Paradoxically, the loss of high-quality audio in these collaborative spaces can undermine the very
collaboration it is meant to enhance, especially since so many of these meetings are dialing in
remote employees and partners.

The problem here is that when the heavy oak conference tables got tossed to the wayside, so too did
the built-in microphones.

“First of all, it is very important to understand that the best conferencing mic position in any
application is as close as possible to the source”, says Robert Moreau, Managing Director of
Clockaudio.

“Yet, today’s meeting rooms often trade the conference table with multiple mic points, or the
traditional dais with a built-in mic, in favor of moveable furniture that typically is not mounted with
microphones.

“However, the further the microphone is from the source, you end up picking up more room sound
and less direct sound. This creates a real challenge when trying to communicate effectively,” Moreau
says.

But conferencing mic placement is not the only challenge for a great conferencing microphone
system, because beyond just the logistics, there seems to be a general lack of appreciation for the
utility of high-quality audio among some AV / IT professionals.

Generational differences… They do play a role

When asked why there might be a disparate valuation regarding audio quality between the
generations, Maione adds his insight.

“As baby boomers, many of us have lived in a world before video conference even existed. We used
to do things only by audio conference. Along the way, we learned that 80 percent or better of the
communication comes from audio, and in many instances, 100 percent because we never had
video.”

Maione adds, “Now that we do have video, I don’t think the
majority of millennials realize how important the audio portion is
simply because now they have both (audio and video). I imagine if
we took away the video, they’d realize just why older generations
feel the audio quality is so critical in the design process and to the
overall “experience”, something that Millennials do seem to be
very focused on.”

Outside of the professional realm, Moreau says that it’s the
personal experiences of the different generations that also leads
to different expectations for audio quality.

“Gen X-ers, and especially Baby Boomers, value audio in a major way because we were raised in a Hi-
Fidelity era,” says Moreau.

“This was the craze at the time and the evolution of audio was pretty amazing. We saw recordings go
from mono to stereo, from vinyl to CD, with amplifiers, speakers and everything else getting better
and better sonically.

Essentially, for Baby Boomers and many Gen X-ers, a great conferencing microphone system at the
time was similar to today’s iPod, iPhone, iPad, app craze.”

In some ways, the evolution of office culture mirrors the evolution of audio – as portability has
improved and audio has merged with video, sound quality has “devolved”.

“Today, younger generations in the AV work force are listening to poor quality iTunes, compressed
audio over earbuds, and they have a completely different understanding of what good audio is,”
Maione says.

Targeting Millennials better

Providing some insight into the Millennial mind, Wes Lambert, project engineer at Manhattan-based
Spectra Audio Design Group shares, “As Millennials, we don’t necessarily think of audio and video as
being two separate things.”

“We have cellphones right now you could take out of your pocket and you could use to FaceTime
with someone. You don’t think of it as being two different technologies necessarily. You just look at it
as being one product that just works, and you can communicate with somebody.”

While acknowledging that there may be challenges with convincing Millennials about the importance
of sound quality, Maione says it’s important to acknowledge that this up and coming generation has
helped direct a new world of wireless connections with better integration and more user-friendly
interfaces – or no interfaces at all.

All of which he feels is a byproduct of new users, innovators and products.

“I think what we’ve learned from the next generation is that we need to cut the cord,” Maione says.
“We used to plug in a LAN cable because we needed internet connection, and now, nobody plugs in a
LAN cable. Everything is wireless.”

“I think that the fact [Millennials] like to streamline and make things easier forces us to revisit how
we do things, and to improve on the methods we have used in the past, which I think is great,” says
Moreau. “This is all part of moving forward.”

Lambert, himself a Millennial, agrees there’s often a lack of importance placed on a conferencing
microphone system in new spaces, but he doesn’t think it’s a generational divide.

“I think, in general, people just look at a microphone as being a microphone, you know, ‘How fancy
could it be? I’m just going to spend the least amount possible.

“You know, we don’t even want to look at this thing, so why do I need to spend a bunch of money on
it,’ is kind of maybe what people think.

“Then when they start using the product, and they realize, ‘Oh, okay, I see there’s definitely
downfalls to not spending enough on a conferencing mic – like the breakdown of clear communication. It’s then that we start to see the importance and understand why it makes sense to
invest more money in a better conferencing mic.”

“This situation puts enormous challenges on conferencing mic designers and manufacturers to create
microphones that operate in a variety of acoustic spaces, not just the traditional four walled
conference room with an 8 to 12-foot ceiling, but in a lot of more open spaces,” says Solomon.

Moreau says that his technical engineers have seen a huge trend and movement toward huddle
spaces, which has created a need for a conferencing microphone system that provides flexibility and
that can meet a variety of needs. He suggests that the solution may come, at least in part, from
above.

“Hanging microphones are a very good compromise that enables designers to take the microphones
off the table but still keeping them closer to the source,” Moreau says.

“As far as conferencing mic positioning is concerned it is important to make sure they are deployed
at equal distances from the participants. This way they will all have about the same ratio of direct
and room sound.” And this is a ratio that improves communication dramatically.

Solomon expects a new wave of smart, directional microphones on the market soon that will help
solve a lot of the current problems. And, thanks to the relentless push of our Millennial friends
towards seamless interfaces and better overall user-experiences, the future is looking, well,
futuristic.

“I mean, if you look at some of the old Star Trek films, and some of the technology that was being
portrayed by the creators of that series, I think we’re moving more and more in that direction, I
really do,” Solomon says.

Indeed, if we embrace a future where technology, integration and ease of use is paramount to both
manufacturers that design products and the professionals that specify and integrate them, we will
find a middle ground for audio quality that supports better communication and collaboration.

When most manufacturers shy away from customization, Clockaudio embraces it, and this month we thought we would share why and how this ability contributes to our long-time success. Every now and then an application will call for a specification of a microphone that is non-existent. This might be a particular place where any standard microphone cannot be mounted to perform adequately, or a specific demand that meets the need for a seemingly extreme solution.

Clockaudio is always receptive to end-users, consultants, designers, or project managers, that come to us with unusual requests and suggestions. Whether it’s a specific color to match the company colors in a boardroom, a specific length of a gooseneck mic, or even redesigning the physical build of a microphone to fit a tight space or requirement, Clockaudio is ready to step up to the challenge.

Our ability to answer specific needs with custom products enables us to address our customer’s requirements at a truly granular level. It also lets us add to and extend our line of microphone solutions.

In essence, every new customized model that we create can become another viable, available solution. Although not always advertised, we are then able to recommend the custom solutions to others when they are faced with a similar need on another project.

Necessity is truly the mother of invention and some designs that started as custom products, became so much in demand that they are now part of our standard inventory.

For example, we received a request from one client that needed a table microphone with a robust, durable construction that could withstand the wear and tear of high traffic areas. So, our designers and product development specialists went to work and created the C012E-RF, affectionately known as our “assault version” of the ever-popular C004E-RF.

Another example where customization for a client evolved into a new line for us, is our distinctive CRM series. From suggestions by end-users, consultants, and designers for a motorized version, we created a dual and tri-element model and a flush-mount that recesses completely into the surface.

Microphones are being integrated into more environments and applications than ever before. In addition, the evolution of microphone technology and design, along with the changing way in which we interact, has pushed us to create products that are even more versatile and adaptable to different environments.

At Clockaudio, we believe there is a solution for every application, and we are ready to collaborate to help design the products that meet and exceed the needs for our clients’ and partners’ projects.

So, if the available 27-inch gooseneck is a little short for your application, we can make them the exact length you need.

If the ceiling is high and requires more than the available 25’ drop on a C3S suspended microphone, we’ve got you covered and we’ll make the cable longer to fit your application.

It is important to add that in addition to modifying its physical attributes, the customization of a microphone can also be at an aesthetic level. Here, we can customize finishes and make the microphones either color match the surroundings or blend into the décor.

Thinking you need a custom color? No problem. Clockaudio uses the unique Nextel finish in Black as a standard finish for many products, but did you know that the Nextel finish palette extends to 31 different colors and shades? What’s more, other finishes such as satin or flat, are available in any of the 1,625 colors on the RAL chart and can be done with a small minimum requirement.

When it comes to custom finishes, just remember that whatever the purpose, we can color your world. Remember, our attention to your details is just another way that makes Clockaudio, Clearly Different!

In choosing a name for our blog we wanted something that was relevant and would resonate with the growing number of millennials (as well as baby boomers) that work with our products and our team every day. But be advised, at no time do we mean to drop an actual microphone…our product’s go through extensive quality control for durability already so let’s just put the focus on our superior audio quality and ingenuity. On that note, just for fun, here is a little history of the “mic drop” for you to enjoy.

The expression “drop the mic” or “mic drop” is a gesture of intentionally dropping one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech to signal triumph. Sort of a version of “it doesn’t get better than this” and for all of us that understand the extensive attention to design, detail and craftsmanship that goes into every Clockaudio product – this expression captures our core commitment to quality and customer support.

Yes, it can be a bit of a boastful phrase, but when it comes to the performance of our products, we’re good with that.

One of the most famous mic drops includes former United States President Barack Obama’s infamous 2016 White House Correspondents’ Dinner – you can enjoy that here: https://youtu.be/rAlwM9K3LJ4.

Long rooted in the music industry, the mic-drop dates back to the early 1980’s and typically was used by rappers at the end of their show, indicating that no other performance could ‘stand-up’ to theirs. Some may argue that comedians have been ‘dropping the mic’ longer than rappers, but never-the-less, the reasoning is the same. The gesture is symbolic of a performer rocking the house.

So, this year, we look forward to bringing you our insight and thoughts in a less formal way through the introduction of our blog. We know we have the chops to stand behind our products and we pledge to bring you quality content and to continue to deliver products and solutions that are as we say at Clockaudio…clearly different.

Every year, no matter how much we plan for the show, inevitably there are always some last-minute arrangements that we need to include as we pack up and head out for the show. For all of us, the show is a much-needed chance to get face time with the representatives, dealers, consultants, clients and manufacturers that we work with every day.

This year we had a few exciting new products, updates and additions to our line-up to talk about with attendees. There was our RGB control devices with their virtually limitless color palette, the Mark 2 version of our popular CDT-100 and the ever popular C303W-D (now available in white).

For our part, we did a good deal of pre-show media with sending out press releases to share the news on our updated products and by placing an ad in the Infocomm Show Daily. But no matter what show you exhibit at, manufacturers tend to go into every show with a “Field of Dreams” mentality and a prevailing philosophy that “if you build it, they will come.”

Field of Dreams, was the 1989 blockbuster starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and a team of other actors who played famous deceased baseball players that stepped out of the corn fields to play ball in a baseball diamond on Costner’s Iowa farm. Not unlike the film, every manufacturer who prepares for Infocomm must build the right team, create the right platform, construct the right booth (or field of play), and then engage their own super star line up to hit home runs with attendees. For us, every year we build it, and yes, they come.

This year, the Clockaudio booth had standing room only many times during the show. Completely buzzing with activity and demonstrations and alive with great conversations about projects, challenges and new product ideas. In the world series of AV, Infocomm certainly brings out some great teams.

On the show floor, news always travels fast. Be that a new product intro, a cool booth, funky swag or the companies that are giving out party invites, serving coffee or starting happy hour early. Once the show kicks into high gear, you can just “feel” the energy. Instantly it seems that the attendees in the convention center become a thinking, eating, breathing and curious collective with incredible stamina to make the most of this Pro-AV event.

We’re excited that we had a chance to meet so many of these attendees face-to-face and to see how our new products and even some of our previously launched products were still getting a lot of attention. They say the market will tell you what it wants and what it needs. Spending time on the Infocomm Show floor does the same thing, but it does it inside of three days.

We are always proud to be associated with this show, and we look forward to the next chance we get to show you how we are “clearly different” at Infocomm19 in Orlando. See you then!

Recently touching down and back from his trip to Amsterdam, we spoke with Simon LeDuc, Clockaudio Product & Technology Manager about his experience “booth-side” at ISE 2019.

What do you feel makes the ISE show different than some of the other shows in the AV industry?
I’d have to say that the size of the show, truly sets it apart. ISE is HUGE and the show is spread across 15 pavilions making walking the show an Olympic event. In recent years, they even added a fourth day to the show since people just could not make it through the 186,000 square feet of exhibit halls and tents in just three days.

How well is the show attended?
At ISE, every square inch of the place is jam packed with attendees and exhibitors. In fact, they reported record attendance yet again this year with over 80,000 attendees and 1,300 exhibitors. As far as the trade show world goes, this European show definitely brings out the crowds.

What do you find fascinating at the ISE show?
As an Anglophone/Francophone, it is humbling to be a minority at ISE. As you walk around the floor, and as people come by the booth, you can hear every language on the planet being spoken around you. It’s like the UN of tradeshows. Also, this show has a lot of class! In fact, the majority of people dress up in suits, and you hardly see anyone wearing polos. It seems that manufacturers and attendees alike, like to put their best foot forward in Amsterdam. Another thing that seems to be happening more and more that I find interesting is that companies are using ISE as the launching platform for new products, and it is exciting to be part of that too!

What else makes the show special for you as a manufacturer?
I’d have to say that it is in the kind of meetings we have. The people that come by our booth have planned to meet with us, however long it takes to discuss their projects. They want to get the maximum detail and see what our products can do for their projects and applications.

What was the highpoint for you (personally) at the show?
I’d have to say that the quality meetings we had with other manufacturers. There is a true collaborative spirit in Amsterdam, and we had a number of meaningful discussions and exchange of ideas with other manufacturers at the show, and I’m excited to see where we take them in the coming months.

Will your time at ISE this year change your approach to InfoComm in any way and if so, how?
Yes, it will: I think now with ISE behind us, we will take that experience and continue to focus more on some of our peer-to-peer relationships. In addition, the setup of the ISE booth has inspired some new changes to our InfoComm booth, and we are looking forward to gearing up for this next event. So, get ready! It’s going to be a great show in Orlando this year and you will NOT want to miss us in June!

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